Those of you who have been following the blog over the last few years, will be well aware of my love of all things Leila. I first came across her during one of my summers in Sweden and have been hooked ever since. She is one of Sweden’s most popular tv cooks and has incredibly unique sense of style. All her recipes are completely drool worthy and her most recent cookbook release, One More Slice does not disappoint. The latest offering is the follow up to her fantastic book A Piece of Cake which was released a couple of years ago and despite being convinced she could not produce even more delicious delights, she has managed to do so with One More Slice which offers recipes for sourdough bread, pizza, pasta and tons of sweet pastries.

In terms of a television format, couples cooking on TV together works beautifully. First came The Two Fat Ladies, then The Hairy Bikers and now we have The Two Greedy Italians. Although the format is the same, two different cooks, on the road, cooking similar food with different takes on it, for me there is so much more going on in Two Greedy Italians. It’s packed full of Italian history, touching personal stories, beautiful scenery and most importantly fantastic food. I had read about the pairing of these two, old, Italian chefs a couple of months ago and couldn’t wait to see what the outcome would be. Antonio Carluccio, the godfather of Italian cookery for many years and Gennaro Contaldo, the man made famous as the mentor to Jamie Oliver, combine forces to create one of the warmest and most fascinating on screen duo’s TV cookery has seen. Sure there might be set up shots, but at the heart of their TV show, there is a genuine friendship and a real warmth.

Ever heard of Annabel Langbein? No? Well neither had I up until a few months ago. While I was cooking away in the kitchen with Good Food channel on in the background, a soft New Zealand accent came from the tellybox and I was intrigued. I sat down and watched the entire program and that was all it took for me to be totally taken in by this free range cook from New Zealand! The program was full of beautiful scenery and most importantly lots of simple, fresh homecooking. A quick trip to google allowed me to see that she had a new book which I finally have in my hands and I can honestly say it’s fantastic.

The quote on the front of this book by legendary food blogger, The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond really says it all for me. This indeed is the book I wish I had read before I began my stumbling journey into the vast world of food writing and blogging! I say stumbling because that’s exactly what it was, it wasn’t smooth and it wasn’t planned. When I look back at some of my very early posts, part of me cringes at just how all over the place they are, and then a huge part of me is incredibly proud because I was so unaware that it was those very posts, which would lead me to something I can call my day job! It’s true that the first step can often be the one most people procrastinate about, but realistically it is better to stand up and be counted than to never make any impression at all.